Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to articles such as garments including body shaping garments and performance enhancing garments that include an altered stress profile. The article or garment includes one or more layers of material such as fabric and/or polyurethane foam in combination with a polyurethaneurea composition.
Summary of Related Technology
Garments provide a variety of different functions including, but not limited to, warmth, fashion, and comfort. Two goals of body shaping garments include support and comfort either of which can be compromised due to the other. One reason for reduction in comfort is that garments designed for body-shaping or support frequently have areas where increased pressure is exerted on the wearer of the garment. For example, if one imagines a band of material wrapped around a person where the band has a wide section and a narrow section, the force within the band length of the band is the same, however, this force is distributed more evenly across the wide portion of the band compared to thin portion. The result is an increased pressure at the point where the narrow portion is in contact with the body.
The areas of increased pressure can result in discomfort to the wearer. Therefore, there is a need for garments that overcome these deficiencies by redistributing the pressure by altering the stress profile of the garment, including providing additional support where desired, and providing greater comfort to the wearer.
Another issue experience by body-shaping garments, such as laminated foam garments, is fabric growth. This is particularly an issue with one-piece laminated foam brassieres. There is a need to provide a method of redistributing or controlling stress within the garment to prevent fabric growth.